


Longer Than A Second

by Sproid



Category: due South
Genre: Coffee, Cookies, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, First Kiss, Fluff, Getting Together, Hugs, Tea
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-06
Updated: 2013-12-06
Packaged: 2018-01-03 20:47:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,524
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1072886
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sproid/pseuds/Sproid
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Five times Fraser asks Elaine out for coffee. (Along with one time she says yes, one time she turns him down, and one time Elaine asks Fraser out instead.)</p><p>--</p><p>Coffee with Fraser, tucked away together in some little cafe, is the kind of offer that Elaine used to dream about. The thing is though, that kind of dream is only fun until you realise that the other person is never going to have the same kind of dreams about you.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Longer Than A Second

Seeing as how she spent her day off helping Ray and Fraser out with Fast Eddie, Elaine thinks that the least she’s entitled to is a weekend to herself. 

Naturally, at ten am on Saturday, an insistent knock at the door startles her from the book that she’s been meaning to read since Christmas. For a moment or two, she contemplates ignoring whoever it is. Then the knock comes again, and she gives in.

“I’m coming, hold on,” she calls out, not bothering to hide her irritation. Ten am is not all that early, but it’s about two days too soon for her liking. Right now, she’s not inclined to be nice to anyone who disturbs her before her shift starts on Monday morning.

When she opens the door, Elaine decides she’ll make an exception. She doesn’t know why Fraser is standing outside her apartment at the weekend, all wrapped up in red flannel rather than his uniform, but his hat is nowhere in sight so it can’t be work related. At his side, Dief wags his tail and woofs happily at Elaine, then trots off towards the smell of baking that’s coming from down the hallway.

“Good morning, Elaine,” Fraser says. He smiles when he says it, too, not quite the same way he smiles at Vecchio, but not the panicked ones he used to give her either.

“Good morning, Fraser,” Elaine replies, leaning against her doorframe and eyeing him curiously. “What are you doing here?”

“Well, it occurred to me that Ray and I took up a rather large amount of your time on your day off. Your help really was invaluable, and it was remiss of us not to thank you properly. I thought I might make up for that oversight by buying you a cup of coffee - and an accompanying slice of cake, or similar - if you’re free. ”

For a second, Elaine considers saying yes. 

Alright, she considers it for quite a lot longer than a second. Coffee with Fraser, tucked away together in some little cafe, is the kind of offer that she used to dream about. The thing is though, that kind of dream is only fun until you realise that the other person is never going to have the same kind of dreams about you. These days, she’s mostly stopped hoping for that. 

Coincidentally, Fraser has stopped running a mile when she speaks to him. 

She’s happy, and Fraser’s happy. Going for coffee with him is likely to make her wish it was more than just a “thank you”, and she’s not all that keen on stirring all of that up again.

Before she can change her mind, she tells him, “Thanks, Fraser, but I’ll pass. I appreciate you coming around here though, really.”

Fraser looks surprised, but quickly nods and smooths it over. “It was no trouble,” he assures her. “And Ray and I really did appreciate your coming to our assistance.”

“I know. Maybe just teach Ray how to ask nicely next time though,” Elaine suggests.

Fraser’s mouth twitches into a grin. He doesn’t _say_ anything about the amount of time it would take to teach Ray something like that, but Elaine is pretty sure he’s thinking it. All he says though is, “I’ll do my best.” 

Then he calls Dief, who bounds back down the hallway and licks at Elaine’s hand before they both leave. Sighing, Elaine shuts the door, and curls back up on the sofa with her book.

\--

On Monday, Fraser stops by her desk at lunchtime to ask her how her weekend was. 

“Relaxing,” Elaine tells him, and means it. The book had been every bit as good as she’d hoped, and it had been nice to just lounge around her apartment for a while. “My shoulders are thanking me for it.”

“I’m glad to hear it,” Fraser replies.

A loud curse from Ray’s desk draws his attention, and Elaine waves Fraser away before he can get an apology out. 

As she watches his retreating back, she wonders what he did with his weekend. Sometimes she thinks he must spend his time happily wandering around parks, or riding the buses to the end of their lines to see where they go. Thing is though, would a guy who had plenty to do in his free time be so eager to spend long hours at the 27th? 

Maybe, one day, she’ll ask him.

\--

The second time that Fraser shows up at her apartment, Elaine begins to wonder at the back of her mind if maybe he wants more than just coffee after all. 

At the front of her mind, she remains more than a little annoyed with him. He and Ray have spent the week leading the department in an effort to lose and destroy a large number of suspects and equipment (mostly respectively). While they found the suspects in the end, and solved the case, the equipment is beyond repair. 

That means a) a lot of paperwork to fill out, and b) Welsh shouting at everyone to do the damn paperwork. Elaine has, of course, borne the brunt of it by way of being a mere Civilian Aid, who doesn’t have actual cases to deal with, and is therefore at everyone’s beck and call.

When she graduates from the Academy, she’s going to find the Civilian Aid at her new station, buy them a cookie a day, and remind them to smack Elaine upside the head if she ever gets like that.

So, yeah, she’s pissed at most of the station, and although Fraser has nothing to do with their behaviour, she’s not feeling too keen on him either at the moment.

His genuine, feet-shuffling, collar-tugging, deeply regretful apology does go quite a way towards earning her forgiveness. The quick glance up from lowered eyes, and cautious invitation to go out for coffee, does the rest.

Sighing, Elaine slumps against the doorframe, and shakes her head. “I’d love to Fraser.” She really, _really_ would. At the moment though, she doesn’t have the energy to figure out if this is a date or not, or has the potential to be one. She’s not even sure she has the energy to leave her apartment. “I’m sort of tired though.”

“I quite understand.”

“You could come in, if you like. I’ve got a coffeemaker, you know.”

Briefly, she wonders whether drinking coffee in her kitchen with Fraser is really a good idea. Fraser is shaking his head as he declines though. His refusal makes Elaine’s heart sink, until he says, “I would very much like to, but I have no wish to put you to more trouble than I already have.”

“It wasn’t _all_ your fault,” she points out, feeling slightly guilty at laying it all on him just because he’s there.

“Perhaps not,” he allows. “Still, I feel that now is not the best time for me to disturb you further.”

“You’re probably right,” she sighs. “I’ll see you at the station tomorrow?”

He nods. “Sleep well, Elaine.”

\--

The next morning, the phone rings five minutes after Elaine wakes up. When she answers, wondering what’s going wrong already, Welsh tells her she’s got the day off, “On account of you doing far more work than the whole of this lazy station, who are the ones who actually screwed things up. Stay at home, Besbriss, get some proper rest.”

Yawning, Elaine mumbles her thanks, looks at the phone in bemusement, and goes back to sleep for another few hours.

When she goes into work the next day, her desk is clear, and there’s an assortment of vending machine snacks, baked goods, and scrawled post-its of thanks waiting for her. She throws a muffin to Fraser when he comes in, and even though it’s just barely turned 9am, he catches it without a fumble. 

“Good morning, Elaine,” he says, bringing it up to his nose and breathing in as he crosses the room. “Blueberry and raspberry, an excellent combination. I trust you’ve caught up on your sleep?”

“Oh, yes.” She reaches for a croissant. “How’d you persuade Welsh to give me the day off?”

“It was no more than you deserved,” he says with a shrug.

She doesn’t think she’ll get much more out of him than that, even if she asks. Instead she just thanks him and starts on her croissant, while Fraser perches on the edge of her desk and eats his muffin.

\--

Elaine walks away from her graduation ceremony feeling as proud as she’s ever done in her life. She still feels the same way the next day, but she’s suddenly faced with the sure and certain knowledge that she’s starting a new job on Monday, and her dress uniform is still wet and muddy from the arrest she’d made yesterday. She doesn’t actually need her dress uniform, of course, but it’s the principle of the thing.

So she spends her morning running various errands, including taking her uniform to the dry cleaners. When she gets back to her apartment, she realises how much more she’s got to do. There’s a whole pile of forms they gave her at the ceremony, and she’s got to polish her shoes again, as well as make sure she knows the route to work.

When Fraser knocks on her door, Elaine has just finished one shoe. Grimacing, she rolls her shoulders and brushes a wayward strand of hair back from her face, then goes over to open the door.

“Hi, Fraser,” she says with a smile.

“Hello, Elaine,” he says, smiling back warmly. Then his eyes flicker upwards, and he doesn’t quite manage to stifle a chuckle.

Elaine sighs. “I’ve got polish on my face, haven’t I?”

Fraser draws a finger from his left temple to just above his nose. “Rather a large streak, I’m afraid.” He pauses, and Elaine wonders whether he’s going to offer to get it for her - she knows he’s got a handkerchief hiding somewhere in those nice blue, slightly tighter than expected, jeans of his. Then he pushes on, and says, “I take it you’re preparing for your new position?”

Nodding, Elaine says, “Yeah. Why is it that no matter how much work you’ve done beforehand, it always feels like there’s a whole pile of things left to do?”

“I couldn’t say,” Fraser says. “Although I sympathise completely. I was so rushed before my first posting that I entirely forgot to pack my - er….”

He cuts himself off with a cough.

After a moment to watch the tips of his ears turn red, Elaine fills in, “Your underwear?”

“Er, yes.”

“Those wouldn’t the same underwear that you tied your wallet to, would they? I can see why that would cause more than one problem.”

“Oh, no. By that time I’d been given my official hat, and so I was able to store my money in there. Which was quite fortunate really, because -”

Fraser stops, and narrow his eyes at her. Elaine smiles innocently back, then can’t hold in her grin any more. 

“You’re not really interested in hearing about the advantages of my hat, are you?” Fraser says.

“Maybe not right now,” Elaine agrees. What is interesting is how quickly he can derail a conversation about underwear. She’ll have to work on that.

With a slightly sheepish smile, Fraser says, “Right. Well anyway, I thought I’d stop by to offer to take you out for a congratulatory beverage, but it would appear you’re quite busy.”

Sighing, Elaine nods. “Sorry, Fraser,” she says. “It’s not that I don’t want to. It’s just I really need to get ready.” 

Guiltily, she remembers that this is the second time she’s put him off. Fraser is nodding his head though, looking entirely unfazed at being turned down again.

“I really do understand,” he tells her. Then, slightly uncertainly, he adds, “If there’s anything I can help with… I do have plenty of experience in ironing uniforms and sorting paperwork, if that would be of any assistance to you.”

Warmth rises in Elaine’s chest, that Fraser is willing to spend his day doing menial tasks, just to help her. She can’t help reaching out to squeeze his arm in gratitude, and although he looks surprised, he doesn’t move away. “Thank you,” she tells him. “But… I think I need to do it myself. You know?”

Fraser’s hand comes across to cover hers. “I know.”

Elaine watches him as he takes a few steps backwards, then turns. A moment later, he turns back, and stops. “Elaine?”

“Yes?”

“I’d wish you luck, but you won’t need it. You’re going to make a fine police officer.”

Then he walks away, leaving Elaine warm from his quietly voiced support of her.

\--

She doesn’t feel like a fine police officer after she throws up in an alley during the fifth week of the job. The reality of a murder scene is every bit as bad as she’d been warned, but still doesn’t prepare her for the dead eyes and bloodied stomach of the twenty year old kid sprawled awkwardly on the sidewalk.

At least she manages to get to the other side of the police tape before she empties the contents of her stomach. She doesn’t care much for her pride, but she’ll be damned if a killer goes free because she contaminated the evidence.

It doesn’t take them long to catch the guy. Elaine cleans herself up with her partner’s kleenex and a bottle of water that he gets her, and then they scope out the neighbourhood together. A few visits to friends of the victim later, they’ve got the name of a drug dealer who runs out of his back door when Jackson knocks on the front. 

Elaine might be going on an empty stomach, but the drug dealer still doesn’t get very far before she tackles him to the ground and reads him his rights, word perfect.

“Good job, Elaine,” Jackson tells her.

Managing a nod, Elaine gets out, “Thanks.”

The knock on her door that evening doesn’t come as a surprise. Tiredly, she gets up from the sofa, and cracks open the door to look at Fraser.

“If you’ve come to take me out and cheer me up, I’m really not in the mood,” she tells him.

“Ray did suggest that going out for a drink would do you good, but I’m inclined to think that you know what’s best for yourself,” Fraser replies. There’s quiet as he looks at her, although what he can see through the small gap, Elaine doesn’t know. Then he says, “If you’d like company, Dief and I would be happy to provide it.”

“You brought Dief?”

Fraser steps back, and Dief jumps up to lick Elaine’s hand where it’s curled around the door. Feeling the hint of a smile, Elaine opens it further, and strokes his ears when he puts his paws on her thighs and nudges his nose into her stomach.

Swallowing around the lump in her throat, Elaine looks up at Fraser, who is still hovering out in the hallway. “Company would be great,” she says.

When she sits down, Dief wriggles his way between her and the arm of the sofa, pushing her towards the centre until he’s got enough space. Fraser hesitates only for a moment before sitting next to her, muttering something about Dief’s lack of manners. His tone, and Dief’s dismissive tail flick, make Elaine smile. 

Then she’s crying, while Dief whines and licks her tears away, before nudging his head firmly against her side so that she tilts towards Fraser. Fraser catches her, draws her close with strong arms, and holds her against his chest while she sobs and curses and grips his sweater with the fists that she held back earlier. His hands are firm on her back and his body is a warm, solid place for her to pour out her anger, her guilt, her pain. Above her, he murmurs nonsense sounds that coax everything out, until she’s shaking and breathless and her head hurts, but her eyes are dry and the heavy nausea in the pit of her stomach has gone.

When she goes to sit up, Fraser’s hands lighten, but he says, “You don’t have to move if you don’t want to.”

So she slides her trembling arms around his waist, and lets him hold her for a while longer. He rubs her back gently, while she closes her eyes and breathes in time with the slow lifts of his chest. The scents of wool and Fraser’s soap wash over her, as his warmth seeps into her front, and Dief’s furry weight presses against her thigh. Bit by bit, the shakes ease, and she’s breathing normally again.

After a few minutes, Fraser asks, “Have you eaten this evening?”

Blinking her eyes open, Elaine shakes her head. With a sigh, she pushes herself away, and meets Fraser’s eyes. “I didn’t feel up to it,” she admits.

“Understandable,” Fraser says. “Do you think you could eat now?”

With a loud grumble, Elaine’s stomach answers in the affirmative. Elaine smiles weakly. “I guess that’s a yes.”

While Fraser gets up to investigate the kitchen, Dief stretches out over Elaine’s lap, and curls around her. Elaine’s watery-sounding chuckles draws Fraser’s attention, and he smiles when he sees. “He always was fond of you,” he remarks.

Elaine strokes a hand down Dief’s back, then again when Dief doesn’t object, and carries on. The repetitive motions, along with Dief’s soft snuffles, keep her mind pleasantly blank until Fraser comes back with soup and grilled cheese sandwiches. Dief slides off the sofa to wrap himself around Elaine’s feet, while Fraser sits down next to Elaine and hands her a tray with her portion on it. It turns out that Elaine is hungrier than she thought, and that Fraser had anticipated that, and fetches her seconds.

Sighing, Elaine finishes those as well, then tilts her head to rest against Fraser’s shoulder. While he finishes his own food, he starts talking, his voice soft and low as he starts on a story that Elaine thinks she’s heard bits and pieces of before. As her eyes shut and the exhaustion catches up with her, she thinks muzzily that she’ll have to ask him to tell it again sometime.

\--

Fraser isn’t magical, so Elaine doesn’t sleep perfectly that night. She doesn’t stop thinking about the dead kid either, but she makes it through the week, and manages to come to terms with the fact that she can’t change the ugly unfairness of it all, just do her best to stop it happening again.

When she comes home on Friday evening, there’s a note stuck to her door. Fraser’s neatly flowing handwriting tells her that he’s left something with her landlady. When Elaine goes to find Mrs Jameson, she’s presented with a tub of ice cream that’s almost as big as the bag it’s in, and she can’t help laughing.

“That’s better,” Mrs Jameson says approvingly. “You’ve been looking glum all this week. That nicely presented young man said this might cheer you up. I’m glad he was right.”

“He usually is,” Elaine says as she takes the bag. “Thank you, Mrs Jameson.”

“It’s no trouble,” Mrs Jameson assures her. “Just you remember, I’ve usually got ice cream in the apartment myself, and I bake a mean cookie. I’ve had plenty of experience dealing with my own children’s tears, so you just come to me if you need anything.”

Struck into silence by the offer, Elaine just reaches out to hug Mrs Jameson, who pats her on the back and then complains about “Police officers these days not knowing their own strength.” Smiling, Elaine lets herself be ushered back to her apartment, and settles down to eat as much ice cream as she can without feeling sick.

It’s delicious ice cream. Elaine does feel slightly ill by the time she puts it away, but she feels much better, too.

Fraser might not be magical, but she’s still not convinced that ice cream isn’t.

\--

She bumps into Fraser a few times over the next couple of weeks. He and Kowalski manage to cover a surprising amount of Chicago, but Kowalski does have a pretty sweet car, and Fraser’s legs are pretty decent too. The two of them are usually working though, and Jackson and Elaine are obviously on patrol, so they don’t get to chat for long.

On Elaine’s day off, a familiar knock at her door stirs her from her laundry, and she’s smiling before she reaches the door. Then she smiles some more, because Fraser is even more immaculately turned-out than usual, hair styled perfectly and soft grey shirt tucked into dark blue jeans. He’s even tied the laces on his hiking boots. He can’t seem to work out whether to clasp his hands in front of him though, or put them on his pockets, and while he tries to decide, he shifts from side to side.

“Hi there, Fraser,” Elaine says, amused.

He looks at her, nervous and hopeful and determined. “Elaine.” Then he stops, opens his mouth, closes it again, and looks down at his empty hands. Sighing, he says, “I knew I should have stopped to get flowers.”

“You were going to buy me flowers?” Elaine tries to think back to the last time someone bought her flowers, and comes up with the memory of the time she broke her arm in college.

Looking up again, Fraser tells her, “Actually, I already bought you flowers. Unfortunately, it turns out that Diefenbaker is allergic to tulips. He sneezed violently all over them before I could get them out of his reach. I wasn’t at all sure that you’d appreciate green tulips.”

Elaine blinks at him, then fails to stifle her laughter, and waves a hand at Fraser while she tries to stop. When she succeeds, and looks at Fraser again, the amusement lurking at the upturned corners of his mouth almost sets her off again. After a moment to look away and catch her breath though, she’s together enough to ask, “So. Is there any particular reason you thought you’d bring me flowers on my day off?”

When he hesitates, she nudges at his ankle with her sock-clad foot, and smiles at him. He flushes slightly, but relaxes.

“The flowers were only the first part of it,” Fraser says. “What I was really wondering is whether you might consider -” He stops himself with a shake of his head. Then he draws in a breath, brings his shoulders down again, and meets her eyes as he says, “Elaine, would you like to go for coffee with me?”

“Yeah,” Elaine says, grinning at him. Relief spreads across Fraser’s face, followed by a shy smile, while Elaine’s head fills with all kinds of happy thoughts that don’t help her work out what to say next.

Fraser breaks the silence. “Does now suit you?” he asks. “I don’t mean to push, but seeing as both of us tend to be somewhat busy, it might be best to take advantage of both of us having the day off at the same time.”

“Right,” Elaine agrees, coming back to the moment. She congratulates herself on remembering _not_ to make a comment about taking advantage. “Let me get my shoes, I’ll be right with you.”

In the cafe, Fraser sits opposite her in the booth, eyes warm and attentive, hand straying towards the middle of the table until Elaine catches it with her own. Turning his palm up, he closes his fingers around hers, and lets Elaine draw their joined hands towards her. He seems content to let his hand lie there, thumb occasionally rubbing across her knuckles, while she strokes hers across the back of his fingers so he knows it’s alright. More than alright.

They stay for two cups of coffee, and a whole plateful of snacks. Elaine gets to hear the whole story about Fraser’s forgotten underwear, and the rest of the surprisingly frequent mishaps which had befallen him during his first few years of training. The more she listens and offers tales from her own first weeks on the job in return - far less interesting, she’s sure, but Fraser looks fascinated anyway even though Kowalski must have passed some of them on already - the more he tells her.

It’s taken them long enough to get this far, but Elaine is glad they’re getting to know each other now.

\--

After the second time, Fraser stops looking shy when he asks her out for coffee, and goes straight for being pleased to see her. On their third date, Elaine links her arm through his as they walk out, and he smiles happily down at her as he puts his hand over his. By their fifth date, Elaine’s feeling bold enough to greet him with a smile and a kiss on the cheek. He blushes, of course, but when he drops her off at her door a few hours later, he kisses her cheek softly and murmurs goodbye against her skin before he leaves.

The sixth time he invites her for coffee, Elaine says no. Then she hooks a finger through his belt-loop, not pulling, just leaving it there, as she adds, “I cleaned out my coffeemaker last night. I bought some of that tea you like, too, and Mrs Jameson baked oatmeal and raisin cookies. I was thinking maybe we could stay in this time, if that’s alright with you?”

“I -” Fraser swallows, licks his lips, and nods. “Yes. I’d like that.”

He looks a bit surprised when Elaine sits him down at the kitchen table and starts getting mugs out of the cupboards. Elaine winks, then sets the coffeemaker going, and a pan of water boiling. After a moment, Fraser enquires if he can help, so she points him towards the cookies and plates. It distracts him enough that his usual chatter flows soon enough, and he’s stopped looking confused by the time they sit across from each other with steaming mugs and a pile of cookies between them.

She thinks he catches on about the time she starts trailing her fingers over his palm, making him shiver and twitch his hand half-closed. When his eyes meet hers, she hides her smile in her mug, and waits for his hand to open up again before she starts again. His voice drops slightly, but he carries on talking, sipping at his tea although it looks less and less like he’s paying attention to it. Elaine has mostly abandoned her coffee as well, caught up in the flush that’s spreading up from the neck of his shirt, and the way his eyes are slowly darkening while he watches her.

“You’ve -” Fraser clears his throat. “You’ve got a crumb…” He reaches out slowly, and brushes his thumb just across the side of her mouth.

Elaine is surprised that he’s the one nudging things further, but she’s certainly not objecting. “Did you get it?” she murmurs. Fraser nods, hand hovering just in front of her face. “Maybe you should make sure,” she says.

When his thumb comes back, she turns into it, and he brushes it across her lower lip, carefully, gently, making Elaine shiver at the touch.

“Elaine,” he says, as his other hand closes firmly around hers. Then he just says, “Elaine,” again, so Elaine slides out of her chair and tugs him up to join her, coming around the table to meet him and draw him closer. With a hand on the back of his neck, she pulls him down, and he meets her lips with a low sound that’s no less an expression of desire for being barely audible. Then his hand comes up to cup the side of her face and slide into her hair, while he opens his mouth to her tongue and kisses her back with soft abandon.

The rest of Elaine’s afternoon tastes like Fraser, flavoured with tea and oatmeal-raisin cookies. They’re both still flushed and dishevelled from it when he leaves. Elaine lets him know that she has no intention whatsoever of going out for coffee with him next time he asks. With a twinkle in his eyes, Fraser nods, and promises to bring chocolate chip cookies with him when he visits.

\--

He brings Dief with him, too, who has a bunch of red and yellow carnations held carefully in his mouth. Elaine thanks him with a stroke of his head, then sends him down the hallway to Mrs Jameson, who winks at Elaine, waves at Fraser, and makes friends with Dief by promising to show him how to make doughnuts.

“Oh dear,” Fraser says, as Elaine pulls him into the apartment. “I’m going to have to lock the kitchen implements away.”

Elaine winds her arms around his neck, and presses a kiss against his jaw.

“I’ll worry about it later,” Fraser says, and wraps his arms around her as he lowers his head.

\--

The next week, Elaine ends up in the region of the 27th around lunchtime, and on a whim decides to see if Fraser’s there.

“Hey, Elaine!” Kowalski calls out, grinning and pushing his way across the room when he sees her. “Haven’t seen you around here in a while.”

Grinning back, she replies, “You did get the memo about me being a police officer now, right?”

“That’d explain it, he agrees. Then he hugs her, and she squeezes him back. “So, what brings you to our station in the middle of the working day? You get fed up of those bozos you’re working with now?”

Elaine casts an eye around the chaotic squadroom, and looks pointedly back at Kowalski, who shrugs and tilts his head, _point made_. Then she answers, “I just thought I’d stop by, say hi and catch up. Is Fraser around?”

“Yeah, he’s here somewhere, I think he just went to -”

“Here, Ray,” Fraser says from Elaine’s side.

“There ya go.”

“Hi, Fraser,” Elaine says, turning to look up at him.

All of a sudden she feels slightly awkward, and her vague plan of asking Fraser out for coffee doesn’t seem like such a good idea. She’d been counting on catching him on his own, which in hindsight wasn’t all that likely. He and Kowalski are pretty much stuck together when they’re working. She can’t ask him in front of Kowalski though, because she doesn’t know if Fraser has told Kowalski about them.

“So hey,” Kowalski says, drawing Elaine’s attention back to him. “We should catch up sometime, but I figure you and Fraser wanna get out of here, go spend some time by yourself away from this lot.” He waves around at the room with the file in his hand, and barely stops the papers from falling out. “So, get Fraser to give you my number, and give me a ring when you get off work, we’ll get a drink or something, yeah?”

“I - Sure, that’d be good,” Elaine says, and blinks as Kowalski claps them both on the shoulder, then dives back into the chaos.

“Shall we do as Ray suggested?” Fraser asks.

Elaine turns to face him. “Kowalski knows about us?”

“Well, yes.”

“You told him?”

“Yes.” Concern slipping into his expression, he asks, “Should I not have done?”

“It’s fine,” Elaine assures him quickly. She goes to put a hand on his arm, then remembers where they are, and draws back. Fraser’s always kept his private life away from work. “It’s just that I wasn’t expecting…”

Fraser looks down at her hand as it falls to her side, then back up at her. “Ah, I see,” he murmurs. Then he steps forwards, takes her hand, and leans down to brush his lips across hers. It’s a quick, chaste kiss, but he doesn’t rush it, or step away when he’s done, even though they’re far from alone. 

“I certainly have no intention of broadcasting our relationship to all and sundry, Elaine, but it’s not something I wish to keep a secret. To do so would imply that I expected it to fail, or that I was ashamed of it, neither of which could be further from the truth. Certainly Ray knows, and I believe Lieutenant Welsh is probably aware of it by now as well.”

Elaine’s vague concerns fade away, and she shakes her head at herself. “Worrying about nothing,” she mutters to herself.

“On this occasion, yes,” Fraser agrees. “Although not without reason. It occurs to me that I should have told you that before now.”

Squeezing his hand, Elaine replies, “We’re learning, Fraser. We’ll get there.”

“Yes,” he agrees, with a soft smile.

Smiling back, Elaine says. “So. How about you go and drag Ray out of there, and the three of us go for lunch?”

“I’d like that,” Fraser agrees, and kisses her again before he goes in search of Ray. Elaine tracks Dief down, and then the four of them head off. Elaine’s arm is linked with Fraser’s, while Kowalski bounces around in front of them, and Dief jumps around them all. Happily, Elaine squeezes Fraser’s arm, leans into him when he squeezes back, and thinks that she’s glad they’ve finally got this far.


End file.
